More than just a cheap Conan knock-off
Added 10/8/2009
If I were to say the name "Albert Pyun", chances are pretty good you'd draw a blank. CYBORG? Uhh, isn't that a Van Damme film or something? Yeah. RADIOACTIVE DREAMS? Cult movie from the 80s maybe? Sci-fi? Yup. Same guy as this Conan ripoff? Yup. And over 40 other films in less than 30 years. The man has certainly been prolific - if not particularly good.
Well, he started off on the right foot, even if this low-budget affair is cheesy, goofy, and most definitely made to cash in on the Schwarzenegger film's success; or presumptive success might be a better way to put it, as it was actually released a few weeks before John Milius' bigger-budgeted, better-marketed film. In fact (and this blew my mind) it had almost exactly the same box office gross, at least in the USA, as the film that made Arnie a star - 40 million dollars or so, a substantial amount for a low-budget indie in those days.
Why the film hasn't stayed in the public consciousness and why the promised sequel (mentioned in the end credits crawl) had to wait until this year, remains a mystery to me after re-watching the film recently. The plot is pretty basic and really rather inconsequential: evil Cromwell takes over the peaceful kingdom of Ehdan with the help of monstrous undead sorcerer Xusia, killing the king and his family but missing young Talon, he of the three-bladed sword, who will eventually grow into strapping he-man Lee Horsley and come back for revenge, along the way saving gorgeous Princess Alana (Kathleen Beller) and her brother Micah, who believes himself to be the rightful heir in the absence of Talon. There's lots of fairly mediocre and unconvincing swordplay, plenty of shots of the half-naked Horsley for the ladies and the scantily-clad Beller and other nubile vixens for the guys, rather dreamy overlit photography that helps camouflage the overall cheapness of the sets and costumes, and a musical score that's rousing if rather shameless in its ripping off of 40s swashbuckler stuff and even for a moment "Gone With the Wind".
But what makes the film work is the sense of humor it has about itself, and Horsley's charisma. How can anybody take the triple-sword (which fires two of its blades like crossbow bolts) seriously, or do anything but laugh when Talon is crucified on a big wooden X at a wedding celebration but pulls the spikes out of his hands (mostly in slow-mo of course) and then goes on to start chopping up the bad guys as if nothing happened? The film has an energy and verve that for me more than makes up for some really ludicrous lapses in plotting near the end, and I for one wish that a sequel starring Horsley had been made. This is Pyun's highest-rated film on the IMDb and judging from what else I've seen and the descriptions and comments on a few others, probably deserves to be. Too bad - it's far from a great film, but it's sad that the director has become such a joke ever since.
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Living sexy fairytale
Added 10/1/2009
Bad boy Cromwell deployed a demon resurrected to reign over something like ancient England, ousting "good right royals" from power. To complete a task, he needed a crown princes got married. Loyal peasants lead by mercenary Talon inspired with virgin princess's promise to be her first, got rid of illegal throne-users. Traditionally-friendly (hah) multinational affairs and multi-race cooperation (hah, hah) are on display in both camps of warriors.
If one abstained from fairytale propaganda, beautiful bodies, brilliant performing and clever mix of actions affect significantly a modern, spoiled with sci-fi tricks viewer with a natural strength and near realistic overcoming of mere terrestrial problems. It seems, too many events ispire future films (The Mummy, The Mummy (HD DVD) / The Mummy Returns , Queen of the Damned , for instance)
It is a really good work and a price reflects its market value of a rare DVD to date.
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Sword and the sorcerer
Added 8/16/2009
The movie was a good one, however even the lowest asking price is too expensive. The movie is almost 30 years old and is not worth more than 10.00 at the most. Would not buy it here.
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A good movie!
Added 6/1/2009
I bought this movie for two reasons:(1)I like sword & sorcerer movies and(2)to prepare myself for the upcoming movie,"Tales of An Ancient Empire". Granted,it didn't really help much with reason #2,since the only connection between this and Tales is Lee Horsley,whose appearance in the new movie amounts to nothing more than a cameo. However,I did enjoy this movie,despite all the killing that took place. To me,the most interesting thing about this movie was the tri-bladed sword,which I found to be a really cool piece. If you love sorcery-type movies,you might want to check this movie out!
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It's The Best Pyun Gets!
Added 2/15/2009
Usually when you see that a film is directed by Albert Pyun, it's best to just run away and not look back. Pyun has directed tons of dreadful films over the years(this is the man responsible for the Steven Seagal film, Ticker as well as the Snoop Dogg/Fat Joe/Ice-T/Big Pun horror themed crapfest, Urban Menace). His home for the last two decades has been the direct to video market, and most likely you have seen one of his films at some time(and probably shut it off after twenty minutes). His biggest deal was Cyborg, which many have seen. Once in awhile the stars seem to be in line coz Pyun will manage to crank out something entertaining. Yes, I liked Mean Guns and the quirky Full Moon pic, Dollman.
The Sword and the Sorcerer is without a doubt his finest movie. It was also his first film and is different from anything else he's done. Made during the sword and sorcery resurgence of the early 80s, this film is a nice addition right up there with Conan and the Beastmaster. Though it's budget is considerably lower than those films, it's a step above Deathstalker. Plot wise, it's rather standard for the genre. Lee Horsley is a wandering warrior who comes across a city ruled by evil usurper, Cromwell. He's "hired"(he does it for sex with the leading lady as opposed to money) to rescue the rightful heir from Cromwell's dungeon and restore peace, happiness, ta-la, tra-la. A demon-like sorcerer played by Richard Moll has helped Cromwell in his conquests, but was betrayed and left for dead, and now plotting his own revenge. Horsley uses a three bladed sword that looks terribly awkward as a weapon. It can also shoot it's blades like a harpoon gun(but with a vapor trail and cool sound effect).
It's a pulpy and very fun movie. Why it's no longer available for a decent price on DVD is a mystery and a damn shame(I was lucky enough to get it years ago when it was still in print). It's dark, it's gritty, it's also a bit tongue in cheek. Horsley is an adequate hero. He's not the beefcake Arnold or Marc Singer were, but he has charisma. Richard Moll isn't seen much, but he's a cool character. The scene where he's first conjured is kinda creepy(well, it scared me when I was a kid anyway). The evil Cromwell is played by Richard Lynch, who any cult horror/action film buff knows is an iconic bad guy. From Ruggero Deodato's Cut and Run to the Chuck Norris extravaganza, Invasion U.S.A., Lynch is the man to turn to when you want a bad guy that really looks like a bad guy. The man doesn't even have to act, he just has to be in the frame.
All in all, a very enjoyable movie if you like this genre. Probably the best you're gonna do once you leave the big budget area. It's one of those films where at the end, before the credits, a message pops up on screen to tell us that "Talon" will soon be returning in another adventure. Unfortunately that didn't happen.
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More than just a cheap Conan knock-off
Added 10/8/2009
If I were to say the name "Albert Pyun", chances are pretty good you'd draw a blank. CYBORG? Uhh, isn't that a Van Damme film or something? Yeah. RADIOACTIVE DREAMS? Cult movie from the 80s maybe? Sci-fi? Yup. Same guy as this Conan ripoff? Yup. And over 40 other films in less than 30 years. The man has certainly been prolific - if not particularly good.
Well, he started off on the right foot, even if this low-budget affair is cheesy, goofy, and most definitely made to cash in on the Schwarzenegger film's success; or presumptive success might be a better way to put it, as it was actually released a few weeks before John Milius' bigger-budgeted, better-marketed film. In fact (and this blew my mind) it had almost exactly the same box office gross, at least in the USA, as the film that made Arnie a star - 40 million dollars or so, a substantial amount for a low-budget indie in those days.
Why the film hasn't stayed in the public consciousness and why the promised sequel (mentioned in the end credits crawl) had to wait until this year, remains a mystery to me after re-watching the film recently. The plot is pretty basic and really rather inconsequential: evil Cromwell takes over the peaceful kingdom of Ehdan with the help of monstrous undead sorcerer Xusia, killing the king and his family but missing young Talon, he of the three-bladed sword, who will eventually grow into strapping he-man Lee Horsley and come back for revenge, along the way saving gorgeous Princess Alana (Kathleen Beller) and her brother Micah, who believes himself to be the rightful heir in the absence of Talon. There's lots of fairly mediocre and unconvincing swordplay, plenty of shots of the half-naked Horsley for the ladies and the scantily-clad Beller and other nubile vixens for the guys, rather dreamy overlit photography that helps camouflage the overall cheapness of the sets and costumes, and a musical score that's rousing if rather shameless in its ripping off of 40s swashbuckler stuff and even for a moment "Gone With the Wind".
But what makes the film work is the sense of humor it has about itself, and Horsley's charisma. How can anybody take the triple-sword (which fires two of its blades like crossbow bolts) seriously, or do anything but laugh when Talon is crucified on a big wooden X at a wedding celebration but pulls the spikes out of his hands (mostly in slow-mo of course) and then goes on to start chopping up the bad guys as if nothing happened? The film has an energy and verve that for me more than makes up for some really ludicrous lapses in plotting near the end, and I for one wish that a sequel starring Horsley had been made. This is Pyun's highest-rated film on the IMDb and judging from what else I've seen and the descriptions and comments on a few others, probably deserves to be. Too bad - it's far from a great film, but it's sad that the director has become such a joke ever since.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Living sexy fairytale
Added 10/1/2009
Bad boy Cromwell deployed a demon resurrected to reign over something like ancient England, ousting "good right royals" from power. To complete a task, he needed a crown princes got married. Loyal peasants lead by mercenary Talon inspired with virgin princess's promise to be her first, got rid of illegal throne-users. Traditionally-friendly (hah) multinational affairs and multi-race cooperation (hah, hah) are on display in both camps of warriors.
If one abstained from fairytale propaganda, beautiful bodies, brilliant performing and clever mix of actions affect significantly a modern, spoiled with sci-fi tricks viewer with a natural strength and near realistic overcoming of mere terrestrial problems. It seems, too many events ispire future films (The Mummy, The Mummy (HD DVD) / The Mummy Returns , Queen of the Damned , for instance)
It is a really good work and a price reflects its market value of a rare DVD to date.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Sword and the sorcerer
Added 8/16/2009
The movie was a good one, however even the lowest asking price is too expensive. The movie is almost 30 years old and is not worth more than 10.00 at the most. Would not buy it here.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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